Can you start a sentence with not

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What takes too much space? The sentence could get rid of the word "it", and become :. Here, "it" refers to the action described later. What's impossible? What your quote is saying is that "it" and "there" should only be used when they refer to something. In my last example, you could say "This word can be used in several ways" in order to get rid of "there are".

Clarity is not only brought via shortness of sentences, elimination of neutral words etc. Active tense is much more simple and straightforward than passive tense, and sometimes active tense should prevail over the choice of non-neutral words like "there".

The best way to know whether or not your sentence is as clear as it can be is to try different phrasings and see how they feel.

Trying different ways of expressing yourself will make you learn faster, and give you a real chance to pass your message. For instance, I have corrected this answer several times as I was writing it, finding more efficient phrasings after one or two trials.

My goal is for you to understand what I am saying, and sometimes the first words I write are not the perfect ones. Success doesn't come from luck, it comes from repeated failures. Leaving your first choice of phrasing on the page is ignoring the very true fact that you have great potential but the first trial can almost always be perfected.

My only response is: indeed, your professor is not fluent in English, to have stated such baloney about English grammar! Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. Why should sentences not start with "there is" or "there are"?

Asked 7 years, 8 months ago. Active 7 years, 8 months ago. Viewed 28k times. Improve this question. Celeritas Celeritas 2, 24 24 gold badges 50 50 silver badges 71 71 bronze badges. Celeritas: You didn't lose marks because of the first two words - you lost marks because the whole sentence is bad English. Your teacher is wrong. It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.

There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it. Tonik: There are times when rewording a sentence to avoid the use of "there is" or "there are" can reduce clarity. Or should I have said: "Clarity is often reduced when sentences are reworded to avoid the use of 'there is' or 'there are'"? Not everyone likes this style, though. Many people fear crashing in an airplane , but riding in a car is actually more dangerous. Some readers especially dislike seeing the conjunctions or, nor, and yet at the beginning of a sentence.

While it may not be an error, starting sentences with these words does sometimes seem melodramatic. We can go to the drive-in. Or we can go to the roller rink.